Roommates
by Iasaneli423
Summary: Bulma has to move from her lavish apartment and find a new place. {Bulma, Vegeta} {Chichi, Goku} AU!
1. The Ad

"If I don't find somewhere to go _soon_ , I'll be homeless!" the bluehead emphasized, sitting at her normal table at the coffee shop. She ran her middle finger lazily around the rim of the mug her beverage was served in.

"Oh, Bulma... I wish I could help you! Who would have thought that _every_ apartment in your price range would be filled!" Chichi replied helplessly, her mug gripped tightly with both of her hands. The _ex-_ heiress watched as her friend stared sadly back at her for a moment, quickly redirecting her gaze as it grew uncomfortable. Bulma knew the brunette wanted her to move in with her desperately. She knew Goku would invite her in if she'd brought it up to him, but she couldn't bring herself to tell another soul about her predicament.

The company her family owned, Capsule Corp, had closed down earlier that week. Any projects they'd been working on had been leaked to their competitors, leaving them with no "fresh" designs. Dr. Briefs had fought tooth and nail to keep the business running steadily, but it was no use.

Snapping back to reality, Bulma shuddered, the finger tracing the lip of her drink pausing in one spot as she recalled the events from earlier that week. "I guess I'll have to find a roommate..." she said slowly and with a shrug. "I don't have any other choice. I can't live on the street." she said matter-of-factly. She felt a little silly saying it in such a way, as if people ever chose to live homeless.

She brought a folded newspaper up from her lap, spreading it flat on the table. Her eyes scanned the page it was permanently opened to, the wanted ads sprawled over the face of it. "Oh, here's one..." she said, placing her pointer finger to one of the small boxes. "It says 'wanted: clean, quiet, self-sufficient roommate,' and it's in my price range..." she murmured, reaching in to her bag and pulling out a pen. She made three dark circles around the text so she could come back to it. "I'll try that to start with... If that doesn't work, on to the next one, I suppose..."

Chichi rose a hand to rub the space between her eyebrows quickly, " _Listen_ , I don't really like the idea of you moving in with a _stranger_ either..." she admitted, narrowing her eyes, her chocolate eyebrows falling with her seriousness. "What if you move in with a _psycho_?!" she squeaked, folding her arms.

"Someone more psycho than _you_? Oh, Chich, no chance..." the genius replied, a large grin spreading over her face. She lifted an arm to guard her face from whatever was surely being launched at her for her comment. Scraps of muffin fell into her lap.

"I'm _serious_! I'm worried about you, Bulma... I know Goku and the others would be, too if they knew what kinda situa-"

" _No_!" the bluehead quickly stopped her friend, putting a hand up in protest. "You can't breathe a word of this to anyone. I'm already mortified as it is." she explained, dusting the pieces of food from her dark jeans. "The only reason you know is because you're my best friend... And I thought maybe you'd heard of some places that were available... But... Here we are..." she huffed, wadding up the newspaper again. "I'm going back to my apartment to pack some more shit... I have to be out of there in three days..." she stated, stuffing the paper and pen back into her bag. "Krillen said I could borrow his truck for a couple of days to move everything, assuming I don't have to sell it all."

"Bulma," Chichi whined, standing, her palms pressed against the table as she leaned over it. " _Please_... If you get any weird feelings talking to this person... Don't just stay there because you feel like you have nowhere else to go... Your friends would be happy to have you stay with them for a little while, until you're back on your feet."

Bulma pushed herself up from the table and looked at her friend, nodding slightly as she slung her bag over her shoulder. She _hated_ being patronized in such a way, even if she knew Chichi meant well. The phrase _'back on your feet'_ rang in her ears for a moment. "You got it, Chich... I promise, okay? Thanks for the coffee..." Turning on a heel with her head held high, the ex-heiress walked to the exit and pushed the door open, walking out on to the bustling sidewalk.

* * *

Pulling down on the sleeves of her beige sweater, she walked toward her apartment building, weaving in and out of other pedestrians. At this point, she wanted to be home, comfortable in some pajamas with a book. She was going to relish in the things that others took for granted everyday, because she was terrified of losing them. She knew that she'd likely have to downsize the amount of things she kept with her if she had a roommate, but her parents offered to let her store her extra things with them in the garage of their one bedroom house.

Sure, they'd offered to let her stay there, but the prospect of living with her parents again put her off. She loved them, of course, but she'd grown so used to having her own space that she declined their offer. They honestly didn't have the room for her in the house, and the garage was uninhabitable in its current state. She decided they must have been offering just because they thought they needed to, it was their _daughter_ after all.

The sound of people and the heels of her boots clacking on the pavement faded away as she felt her agitation rising. _"I_ _ **told**_ _dad to keep an eye on who he was hiring!"_ she internally scolded, her brow knotting up a little. _"I_ _ **told**_ _him that people are scum and don't give a damn who they hurt with their thievery. He insisted that he trusted his employees..."_ she sighed a little, a subtle sadness taking over her features. _"He has such a kind heart... And tries to see the good in people... He was naïve to think everyone else in the world was like that... This was bound to happen eventually..."_

After about 10 more minutes of walking, stopping for cross walk signals and maneuvering through the crowds, she was finally home. She dug through her purse and found her keys, sliding the one into the lock and turning it. She pushed the door open with little force, using her foot as a stopper as she pulled the key back out of the handle.

The blue haired woman drew in a deep breath and looked around her spacious apartment. It was an open floor plan, the only walls surrounded the bathroom and her bedroom. The kitchen had a bar and stainless steel appliances, the backsplash under the cabinets a chic granite pattern. Marble countertops sat atop the bottom cabinets, pulling the look together flawlessly. She released her breath and closed the door softly behind her, flipping the lock above the handle. "Take it all in," she said aloud to herself. "You'll be moving the day after tomorrow..."

She kicked off her shoes and walked over to the kitchen bar, hopping up on to one of the stools. She brought her bag up and sat it in front of her, pulling out the newspaper. She eyed the number in the ad she'd marked earlier and pulled out her cell phone, being careful to punch in the right numbers. When she heard someone pick up, she began, "Uh, hi... I was calling about your ad in the paper..."


	2. The Preparation

**Hey you guys! Thank you so much for the views and reviews so far! Hope you guys like this next chapter, hope to update again tomorrow! 3**

* * *

Bulma blinked down at the countertop as she was greeted by only an address on the other end of the line. She hurriedly scribbled it in the margin of the newspaper, "But wait -" she began, trying to ask the man why he had just given her an address, but she was interrupted by a ' _click_ '. "Oh, this is off to a great start!" she hissed, pulling the phone from her ear and looking down at the screen. She watched as the screen blinked 'end call' and sighed, bringing up her call history and storing it under "Roommate 1" in her contacts. Sliding from her seat with the assistance of her jeans, she groaned as her socked feet hit the floor, "Guess I've got some work to do..."

Walking to her bedroom, she began to pull all the contents from her closet, tossing the garments on the bed. Crossing her arms over her chest in frustration, she looked the pile over. _"Most of these I wont wear anymore... I don't have anywhere to wear a wardrobe filled with suits..."_ she thought, beginning to pull her past work clothes from their hangers and toss them into a box. At this point she was too pissed off to care whether the clothes were being stored folded or not.

When she could finally see the blankets on her bed again, about an hour and a half had passed. She kept one formal dress in the closet, along with a black suit jacket and skirt with pale pink pinstripes. The rest of her clothes consisted of jeans, t-shirts and the occasional sweater. She also sat aside a pair of black pumps, a couple of pairs of thigh high stockings, all of her undergarments and other unmentionables, and her tall boots and sneakers. Wiping a brow and surveying her work, she turned and made her way toward the master bathroom, shedding her dirty clothes as she walked.

Her alarm blared from the bedside table bright and early. She glanced at the red numbers on her alarm clock. 6am. Sitting up and hitting the 'off' button, her room fell eerily quiet. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes and ran her fingers through her messy blue bedhead, before forcing her feet to swing over the side of the mattress. _"Gotta get up... More shit to pack up... And I have to meet that guy at his place at 2 o' clock... Hopefully he's... Normal."_

Her mind raced as she threw on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt, sliding a hoodie overtop and adjusting the hood and strings in her full-length mirror. She tousled her hair a bit, not really caring to style it. She sat on the bed once more to pull on some socks, glancing up as her phone next to the alarm clock rang. She blinked and grabbed it, eyeing the screen.

She tapped the "accept" button on her screen and brought it up to her ear, exiting her room while doing so. "Hey Chich," she said calmly.

"Oh, Bulma! So glad I caught you!" the brunette sang on the other end.

Flopping on to her couch, the bluehead wondered why Chichi would bother wasting her time to call if she thought there was a chance she wouldn't be there. She simply shook her head a little and replied, "What's up?"

"I was just calling to see if you, uh..."

Bulma heard a pause on the other end of the line, followed by the shuffling of clothing and slippered feet. No doubt her friends attempt to not be heard by her "other half". "I was just calling to see if you called that posted that ad you saw in the paper yesterday!"

"Yeah, I did actually... All I got was an address... Not a _hello_ or _goodbye_ or anything!" she huffed. "Can you _believe_ that?! The nerve..." she finished, realizing she had ranted. "Anyway, I have an appointment to go over there at 2 today..."

"Oh! Great! How about we meet at the café afterwards? So you can tell me everything about it!"

"Yeah, sounds great, Chichi. I'll meet you there after I'm done. Say... 3pm?"

As they finalized their plans and hung up, Bulma chuckled to herself and shook her head. This was Chichi's "innocent" way of sticking her nose in someone elses business. Though, she had learned to deal with it, and the fact that her friend always acted so motherly to everyone. She honestly would have called her to tell her what happened afterward anyway, might as well just meet in person.

* * *

The rest of the morning went on without a hitch, as she slowly began to gather up more of her belongings. She pulled books down from their shelves and placed them in a box, stacking them as closely together as she could to not waste space. She pushed the box of books along the carpet and sat it next to the one that contained her clothes, that was now sitting next to the door. Her shoes were boxed up as well, and everything else was separated into piles of things she would take with her to her new place, and things she would take to her parents to store.

She glanced at the clock that hung on the wall to her right, _"1pm... I'd better go get dressed and ready to go meet this guy..."_ She pushed herself up from the floor and walked back to her disheveled bedroom, grabbing a nice sweater from the pile of clothes on her bed. She pulled the hoodie and t-shirt from her frame and tossed them next to the bathroom door, replacing them with the sweater. She went to the bathroom, ran a brush through her hair, dabbed on some perfume and a natural-looking amount of makeup and headed for the door. She grabbed her bag from the counter and slid on the boots she had worn at her and Chichi's meeting the day earlier _. "Okay..."_ she took in a deep breath, opening the door.

Having the address memorized, she stepped off the elevator of her apartment building and smiled at the doorman as he opened the door for her on her way out. "Thank you, Patrick." she said kindly, receiving a nod and tip of the hat as a reply.

Thankfully the property wasn't too far from her own, so she didn't have to waste money on a cab. She found herself to be much more money-conscious these days, for obvious reasons. Although she still had enough funds to feed herself for the next few months, as well as pay for a modest rent and utilities bill, it wouldn't last forever. She felt more determined than ever to find a job that suited her. She had one of the greatest minds on Earth, someone had to be in need of her skills!

She turned the corner, now on the street that her soon-to-be appartement resided on. _"I hope."_ she thought, making her way as quickly as possible, not wanting to be late.

Her eyes fell on a red door, the building number 763 matched the number she had scrawled the night before _. "This is it..."_ she said, beginning to ascent the four-tiered stoop. She brought up her hand and gave the door a couple of firm raps, startled as the door opened almost immediately after.


	3. The Place

"Oh!" Bulma exclaimed, her blue lashes fluttering as she brought her hand back down, clasping the other in front of herself. "I'm the one who called about your ad in the paper..." she said, forcing a kind smile on her face, dispite her intimidation.

The bluehead studied the man as she waited for a rebuttle, his steely eyes piercing through her. She looked from his eyes to his folded arms, noticing that he was leaning against the door frame. She worked her eyes around his form, noting his outfit, which consisted of a royal blue t-shirt and a pair of dark jeans. Relocating her gaze back up the man to his broad shoudlers, the t-shirt was quite form-fitting and accentuated his sculpted body. His hair was black and spikey, a look that was meant to appear messy but at the same time looked quite put-together. He looked like a model on the front of one of those popular fashion magazines.

Her attention snapped quickly back to his eyes as she watched him push away from the door frame, "Is that so?" he grunted, a bit disgusted that he had just been ogled, but at the same time, he knew why. He chose to not show his recognition of her peering at him and pushed the door all the way open, gesturing for the blue haired woman to step inside.

Bulma nodded gently and stepped through the threshold, entering the quaint 3-bedroom house. She could have sworn she had felt the man's eyes on her as she passed him, but pushed the feeling away. The front door led to a small hall, with a coat closet and a neatly arranged assortment of shoes. She bent over and began unzipping her tall boots as she heard the door close behind her, taking note of the lovely tile that layed underfoot. Sitting her boots next to what she assumed were his own shoes, she stood idly by as he walked past her, motioning again for her to follow.

The small hallway led straight to a spaceous livingroom, outfitted with a quite large flat screen TV, rimmed by a grey suede sectional. The windows wore a stylish, ashy colored drapes, the venetian blinds turned upward to direct the light to the ceiling. The walls were a modest shade of creme, as most rental places were, and the carpet was a dark color with a medium pile. Easy to hide anything that could spill or be tracked in and leave a stain.

The man stood with his arms folded still, watching the woman's face for her reactions as she took in the place. His eyes narrowed at her for a moment. He could have sworn he had seen her somewhere. There was no mistaking that almost ridiculous _hair_ , and judging by the fact that even her eyelashes were that shade of blue, led him to believe that was her natural hue. He couldn't place her yet, but he had a feeling that would change sooner or later. He was almost startled from his own thoughts as she turned to him, her bright blue eyes peering up at him.

"Oh, I just remembered..." she began, a nervous smile coming over her as she brought a hand to the back of her head. "We didn't really get a chance to exchange any pleasantries on the phone..." she said, bringing her hand down and offering it to him. "My name is Bulma... Bulma Briefs... It's nice to meet you, Mister...?"

"Vegeta..." he said, looking at her dainty hand for a moment before reaching out to take it in a handshake.

"Vegeta..." she repeated happily, nodding in acknowledgement.

The man froze for a moment. Although his face betrayed no emotion, hearing his name spoken by her left him feeling a bit light headed. He released her hand and motioned for her to follow him once again.

Once they had toured the downstairs of the home in it's entirety, he turned to glide up the staircase. Bulma watched as it took him little effort and even less time to ascend them, as she followed quickly behind.

"This is my room," he said, pointing to the master bedroom door. "Enter at your own risk..." he grumbled, narrowing his eyes at her a moment before moving down the hallway to the next door. He gripped the doorknob and pushed it open, reaching in to flick on the flourescent light. "This is just a sort of makeshift indoor gym..." he said, eyeing the room with her as she walked in. "Nothing here in the way of weights, but there's a gym just down the street for that, if you're interested.."

Bulma paused for a moment as she gaped at the room, her eyes fixed on a treadmill. "Goku and Chichi go to a gym not far from here..." she thought, blinking slightly as she turned around. "I wonder if they..." She watched as Vegeta moved from the doorway, walking toward the last bedroom.

"This would be your bedroom," he said, looking down at her, taken aback slightly as her eyes met his own. He turned the handle and pushed it open, and watched as she stepped in.

"Oh! It's lovely!" she squeaked, clasping her hands together. It was a decent size, a queen bed sat in the center of the far wall. There was a large dresser, a night table and a decent sized closet, by the looks of things. The room was painted the same color as the living room, and he had put in the same color curtains. She noticed that the carpet, where there was any, was the same shade throughout the apartment. She paused a moment and looked at the main, her blue brow quirked a little in curiosity, "Does that mean that I can stay here?" she asked, looking up at him.

"Yes, thus far you're the only person who has shown any interest." he admitted, nodding with a slight shrug of his shoudler. He had only placed the ad about 2 days before that, but that was a piece of information he would keep to himself. "The impression you've given me is a good one. I hope that is a correct assumption, for your good and mine."

Unsure if the threat was an empty one or not, she smiled nervously up at the man. "I'll do my best not to let you down, Vegeta..." she squeaked out, closing her eyes, trying not to meet the man's gaze again. She was sure this time it would turn her to stone.

Being a gentleman, Vegeta walked the woman back down to the front door and watched her put her shoes back on. When she was standing at full height once again, he nodded at her. "When did you say you needed to be out of your current housing situation?"

"In a perfect world, I'd like to have everything moved out by tomorrow, but I don't need to be gone completely until lunch the day after..." she said, adjusting the bag on her shoulder.

"I think it would be fine for you to begin to move in tomorrow, if that's what you'd like." he said, opening the door for her. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled a single spare key out and placed it in her hand. "I'm not positive of my plans for tomorrow, so I want you to be able to get in if I'm not here.." he explained, momentarily questioning his actions. Reminding himself that he knew her full name and description, it would be no problem to have her arrested if she stole anything. Also, he couldn't help but believe the fact that she needed a place to stay. "You can leave your first month's rent on the kitchen counter or hang it on the fridge... I'll find it." he added, wondering how he was in such a talkative mood suddenly.

Bulma beamed at the man, clapsing the key in her hand. "Thank you, Vegeta. I can't even begin to explain how thankful I am that I found your ad in the paper!" she squeaked, turning to hop down the stoop.

He simply rolled his eyes a bit, a bitter taste settling in his mouth. Why was he being so kind to her? He didn't exactly have the reputation of being a _kind_ or _personable_ sort of person. He narrowed his eyes and turned back into his home, slamming the door behind himself.


End file.
